gear change swap
Thread Starter
|
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,036
Likes: 1
From: Charleston
gear change swap
ive got my lift for my truck, just waiting on tax return and what not to get tires and have it installed. my next project is going to be to change the gears to a 4.10 or 4.56 to help turn the 35's and maybe eventually a little bigger. everyone says its hard to do and to have a shop do it but i dont see why exactly? is it because of the shimming? my friend in auto tech says he can do it no problem and says its easy which makes me think were missing something because everyone else says its a pain and hard to do? he knows how to shim everything he said. is that the hard part? what are we missing?
Tuned
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 414
Likes: 0
From: Kingman, Ks
I would say that the shimming is the hardest part. I myself just swapped from 3.31s to 4.10s in my own garage. It took quite a while to do it but I have put on about 2000 miles and no howling or ill affects yet. The hardest part is getting the correct preload on the differential bearings and then shimming the pinion bearing and differential bearings. It normally takes a long time to get the perfect mesh pattern, because you have to change pinion depth via shims to change the pattern and then each time you have to check backlash between the ring gear and pinion, and then if it is off you have to move differential shims from one side to the other to correct backlash.
Word of advice, keep the old inner pinion bearing and hone out the inside so you can use it as a setup bearing so you don't have to press the new pinion bearing on and off every time you have to shim the bearing.
Word of advice, keep the old inner pinion bearing and hone out the inside so you can use it as a setup bearing so you don't have to press the new pinion bearing on and off every time you have to shim the bearing.
Thread Starter
|
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,036
Likes: 1
From: Charleston
he says he knows how to do it and hes done it before. i was just wondering because he said it wasnt that hard and everyone elsse says it is so i thought we were missing something.
hes done it on rearends before but never a front end. is their any difference?
is this something you can do with the axles still on the truck? he seems to think we can do it that way? i was thinking more alone the lines of going to a junkyard and picking up an old set and swapping the gears over and taking our time and making sure we did it right
hes done it on rearends before but never a front end. is their any difference?
is this something you can do with the axles still on the truck? he seems to think we can do it that way? i was thinking more alone the lines of going to a junkyard and picking up an old set and swapping the gears over and taking our time and making sure we did it right
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,709
Likes: 4
From: 8600 ft in Colo
Yeah, shimming the gears to get the right contact patterns and backlash isn't especially hard, just tedious, with a lot of assemble, check, dis-assemble, change shims, assemble, check, etc... The right contact pattern makes the difference between smooth, quiet gears, and an axle that whines... Get the patterns as good as possible.
Thread Starter
|
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,036
Likes: 1
From: Charleston
i dont have a real good understanding of the procedure yet. i did find this website and it looks to be a pretty good one so far. im the kind of person that i can only learn so much by listening and talking to people before i have to do it myself.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,709
Likes: 4
From: 8600 ft in Colo
Yeah, you can do it in the truck, it's just inconvenient. Back in the day, I did several 9" center sections with different gears for my Mustang. It was really nice to be able to throw the pumpkin up on the bench, grab an edge with the vise to hold everything steady, and stand up straight to work on it...
Cargo Master
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,364
Likes: 117
From: starship enterprise
You can do it, but it requires a good set of calipers, a dial indicator, and an inch pound torque wrench (you can use the old wrap string and pull with a scale but a torque wrench is easier and nicer) As for being hard, I wouldn't say it is "hard", mt idea of hard is stabbing a 460 into an auto in a highboy by myself, but I do recommend to dedicate a good day for each axle. It is time consuming. It has to disassembled, measure and record shims, remove races from housing, press bearings onto gears and carrier, reinstall and check pattern and preloads. disassemble and change shims as necessary. One consideration is check your carrier breaks on whatever axle models you have. You might need to change carriers to go to the lower ratio. Good luck.
Trending Topics
Hotshot
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 14,285
Likes: 12
From: Bend,OR
i would also recommend running at least 4.88's given your motor and tranny. this will keep the 302 in its sweet spot while on the hwy and also around town.
understand that with gears it doesnt take long for them to become ruined. having the setup close will get expensive fast having to by another gear set and master install kit.
understand that with gears it doesnt take long for them to become ruined. having the setup close will get expensive fast having to by another gear set and master install kit.
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalytic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Most Expensive Ford Trucks Ever Sold on Bring a Trailer
Joe Kucinski
2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)
Brett Foote
Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies
Joe Kucinski
AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make
Brett Foote
Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!
Michael S. Palmer
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home
Verdad Gallardo
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?
Brett Foote
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 178
Likes: 1
From: Manchester, NH
And no, there will be no difference between a front or rear axle, as to setting up gears.
Tuned
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 414
Likes: 0
From: Kingman, Ks
Yes it can be done with the rear axle in the truck, thats how I did mine. It would have been nicer to remove it but I didn't do it that away. The front you have to take out anyhow because the pumpkin is bolted on like a Ford 9" rearend was.
The front end is a little different because the carrier bearing shims are underneath the bearings instead of on the outside like on the rear so you would want to do what BrianDguy said and keep those bearings as well to use as setup bearings.
Other than that it is like everybody has said it is not real "hard" work it just takes a lot of time and patience getting the pattern right. I probably did 7-8 patterns on each axle just so I made sure the pattern was as close to perfect as possible. It probably would have taken me 3-4 days to do the project if I worked on it all day everyday, but I also put in new u-joints, axle bearings, and had to make several extra part runs in the middle of the project.
The front end is a little different because the carrier bearing shims are underneath the bearings instead of on the outside like on the rear so you would want to do what BrianDguy said and keep those bearings as well to use as setup bearings.
Other than that it is like everybody has said it is not real "hard" work it just takes a lot of time and patience getting the pattern right. I probably did 7-8 patterns on each axle just so I made sure the pattern was as close to perfect as possible. It probably would have taken me 3-4 days to do the project if I worked on it all day everyday, but I also put in new u-joints, axle bearings, and had to make several extra part runs in the middle of the project.
Cargo Master
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,364
Likes: 117
From: starship enterprise
yes, the set up bearings will be helpful. X2 on the perfect thing. Close will ruin those parts relatively soon. As for the carrier shims, measure the shims that are removed and that is where you should be for total shim pack on the install, you might have to move some from one side to the other to get the backlash in spec, but don't add or subtract too much because you will not have proper bearing preload against the housing then. Good luck and don't get discouraged, jump right in. That is how I learned.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
monstrs
1968-Present E-Series Van/Cutaway/Chassis
10
Jul 30, 2018 07:26 PM
painintheneck
Clutch, Transmission, Differential, Axle & Transfer Case
3
Sep 28, 2007 11:41 AM
95xltmud
Clutch, Transmission, Differential, Axle & Transfer Case
5
Aug 28, 2002 01:22 PM
